Max Pacioretty gets two penalty shots in two minutes, blows them both (Video)
If Thursday night's tilt between the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks was a battle for the starting job in Sochi, what with Canada's top two guys, Carey Price and Roberto Luongo, going head-to-head, you could argue that Price won. After all, his Canadiens triumphed, 5-2.
But you could also argue that Luongo won. After all, who's to say Team Canada doesn't meet Team USA in the gold medal game again, and Max Pacioretty, proud American, isn't hauled down on a breakaway in overtime, leading to a potentially game-deciding penalty shot?
It could happen, you guys, and if it does, there's no question you want Luongo in goal. He has stopped Pacioretty on a penalty shot three times this season. (Carey Price hasn't stopped him even once. Get it together, Price!)
What's more, two of those penalty shots came in the second period of Thursday night's game, as, in a bizarre, two-minute sequence, Pacioretty became the second NHLer in history to get two penalty shots in the same period. And then Luongo made Pacioretty the first to miss two penalty shots in the same period:
But don't feel too bad for Pacioretty. He finished the night with a hat trick.
Seriously. Take all the other players off the ice and he can't beat Luongo. Give the Canuck netminder a defence to support him, on the other hand, and Pacioretty's a goal-scoring machine. Weird.
Luongo and Pacioretty's trio of penalty shots is pretty absurd as well. Outside of Corey Crawford, who has participated in five penalty shots, tied with Luongo, no other goalie has had to endure more than two. Meawhile, Luongo has had three against the same guy.
He's not complaining, though. He owns Pacioretty.
- - - - - - -
is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
